A COLLECTION of amazing aerial photos were taken by a man from Weymouth on a special helicopter trip with his son.

Maurice Kessock-Philips, 75, took the photos when he booked a helicopter to land in his back garden and take him for a ride with his son Paul, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer.

These incredible pictures show Weymouth and Portland from above on a somewhat overcast day, with aerial scenes of Hardy's Monument, St Catherine's Chapel, Abbotsbury Swannery and more.

Mr Kessock-Philips said: "In November 2016 my son Paul was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus before his fiftieth birthday. The doctors gave him between three and six months to live so we tried to cram everything we could into the time he had left.

"That's why we hired a helicopter to fly over the old places he used to go when he was young like the fields where he played football. We flew over his old schools, our old home and places in Wyke and Littlesea where he and his mates used to spend a lot of time together.

"We were going to go round to see the spot where we used to fish near Portland Bill but we saw there was a big black cloud and we had to turn around because of the storm that was coming in."

Sadly, Paul passed away on February 24, 2017. Mr Kessock-Philips and his wife Judy now live in Stafford but the helicopter trip and the incredible photos bring back happy memories of him spending time with his son.

He said: "Not long after the helicopter trip he started to go downhill. The helicopter ride was a highlight of his lifetime I think. Not everyone gets a helicopter to land in their back garden and take them off on a trip.

"It was quite a smooth ride and it was easy to take pictures even for an amateur photographer like me with a bog standard camera.

"My favourite photo is the one of the Chinook helicopter and the buzzard flying over Hardy's Monument. I took that picture from our back garden while we were waiting for our own helicopter to arrive. It was just perfect timing and a chance in a million."

See more of the pictures at dorsetecho.co.uk